The entertainment industry’s attempts to eliminate (think DRM) and whittle away (think PERFORM Act) your fair use rights are jeopardizing more than just free speech. It also threatens the U.S. economy, as an extensive study released today by the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) demonstrates.
Based on methodology created by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the study finds that market sectors depending on copyright’s limitations and exceptions (like fair use) represent one-sixth of the GDP of the US. CCIA’s study found that these industries contributed $2.2 trillion to the economy and accounted for more than 17 million jobs. In contrast, recent studies place entertainment companies and other parts of the copyright industries’ contribution at around $1.3 trillion and about 11 million jobs.
Let’s hope Congress keeps this in mind the next time the entertainment industry asks to further expand copyright laws at the expense of fair use in the name of protecting the US economy. –EFF
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